Abel to Yzerman

David Shoalts, the writer who “broke” the “Bowman to Toronto, no really I mean it” story over the weekend was on Sportsnet radio this afternoon. Predictably, he backpedaled, tossed some alibis (a close friend of Bowman’s told him it wasn’t “complete hogwash”), then started dropping names left and right.

It took us 8 contestants to reach this point, but our “Ditch The Fire On Ice Campaign Before The Rest Of The Hockey World Realizes Just How Sad Our Marketing Strategies Really Are” contest has finally attracted the attention of Cinemax viewers.

So I guess the stress train we all rode last May is kind of a rental, eh? I’m thinking that while we had it bursting at the seams a few times, they may have to add a couple cars to fit all the Tiger fans aboard. If you’re finding the other Ilitch organ-I-zation to be a cause of current (and hopefully temporary) sorrow, all I can offer you is a little hockey news to distract you for a few minutes.

...public overtures to Markov may be for show. As it stands right now, there’s just no room for the guy. There’s no animosity there, just the reality of a stacked blue line and a bit of a bind where Meech is concerned. It would seem, and it’s kind of embarrassing that it’s taken me this long to figure it out, that the day Rafalski signed Markov’s ticket out of Detroit was stamped.

Reports out of Sweden (generally more accurate than reports out of, say, Russia) point to an issue we may be discussing for years to come. The old adage seems to be that back problems never really go away, they just fluctuate between bearable and really painful.

Well, Henrik Zetterberg’s back apparently flared recently and if you’ve forgotten about the little break he took prior to the playoffs last Spring, prepare to be reminded.

And Khan(!) shall lead them. The Deep Diggers are slowly awakening from their summer slumber, and the results are startling. The DD Captain enlightens us this morning with an analysis of the Markov situation.

“He told me what he’s looking for; we’re not even close to that,’’ Holland said. “Right now, we’re satisfied with our defense. We’d like to have Danny back, but if he signs somewhere else, we’re comfortable.’‘

He said he’d like to add some depth on defense, but only at the right price. He offered Markov a two-year deal at the draft in June, apparently at around the same $2.5 million-a-year salary he earned last season.

“He told me the salary range he’s looking for. We don’t have any interest in that salary range,’’ Holland said.

You now have seven choices in the “Fire On Ice Caused The Mass Firing Of The Entire Wing PR Staff, Now’s Your Chance To Replace It” contest. Saginaw John brings us another, and it should definitely be popular with the die hards.

Back on top. The last time Detroit held the title of The Sporting News’ Best Sports City was 1998. 9 years later and legitimate claims to the top teams in three of four major sports, a fan base that sticks by the NFL’s worst team and franchise; all of that was enough to land Detroit back at the head of the class.

Yes, it’s still Hockeytown, same as it was when Detroit was our Best Sports City in 1998. Yet on an unseasonably warm Saturday in April, with the Wings facing the Flames in the playoffs at The Joe, you were as likely to see an old English “D” on a cap in downtown Detroit (the Tigers were playing the White Sox) as you were a winged wheel on a red sweater.

Helene St. James, most likely out of boredom, has created a firestorm. The boards are buzzing. Rumor sites are blasting “Forsberg to Detroit?” headlines…all due to this sentence:

General manager Ken Holland has told Forsberg’s agent, Don Baizley, that the Wings are interested in adding the Swedish superstar to their lineup.

My opinion on this matter is well known by now: he’s not coming here. Not now, not ever. The Wing lineup is sturdy enough. The Cap money is in the bank, collecting interest for March. And there is little doubt in my simple mind that whatever Holland told Baizley (and when) comes with a caveat from Bandwagon Central. And that caveat is this: “whatever the Wings offer, we raise them a dollar.”

But that’s just my opinion. In the interests of offering you as many views…as misguided and pathetic as they may be when they are in contrast to mine…I present to you Floppa-mania.

I told Tommy, our Dive apologist and defender of transvestites, this morning that the key to finding a solution to a particularly troublesome problem is admitting the problem in the first place. It’s just such advice that has hockey fans from all corners seeking me out for guidance. I’m not bragging. Just, you know, keeping it real.

So, you can imagine just how stunned I was this evening to see that, along with Tommy, the Wings are following my sage advice.

Just when you’ve recovered from the last riveting “Wings Scouting Report” Ansar Khan(!) punches you in the face with another one. Today….Nik Kronwall. Check out some of these outlandish statements:

“The hard-luck defenseman has sustained a significant injury in each of his three NHL seasons (he broke his leg in 2004 and tore a knee ligament in 2005).”

“Kronwall will need a new defense partner after Mathieu Schneider signed with Anaheim. He’s never played with Nicklas Lidstrom for any length of time.”

“The Wings have no doubt Kronwall will be an impact player. It’s why they locked him up to a five-year, $15 million contract extension last season. He’s going to be a top-four defenseman in Detroit for years to come.”

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: wphoulihan@gmail.com